The Pirates (5-4), who had lost their previous three, led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but UNC Greensboro cut the margin to 28-26 at halftime and went ahead 40-39 with 14:17 remaining on a 3-pointer by Trevis Simpson.

Simpson, who scored 24 points, had 15 during a stretch of 4:02 when the Spartans took a 52-43 lead with 10:36 to play.

East Carolina responded with a 15-0 run that included a tying jumper by Paul and a go-ahead 3 by Shamarr Bowden.

Darrius Morrow and Maurice Kemp scored 13 apiece for East Carolina. Morrow moved up to seventh on the Pirates' career scoring list with 1,200 points.